Derick H. Lindquist

Ph.D.: Yale University
Postdoctoral Training: Indiana University, University of Kansas

My research explores the mechanisms by which early-life ethanol exposure in rats, modeling fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) in humans, disrupts neurodevelopment and cognition (primarily learning and memory) across the lifespan. Our current work focuses on ethanol's nerotoxic effects on forebrain development, especially the hippocampus. As adolescents and adults, FASD rats are impaired in a variety of hippocampal-dependent Pavlovian paradigms, including tasks that require the bridging of two stimuli in time (trace fear conditioning) or the conjunctive encoding of contextual memories (context fear conditioning), both of which to rely on NMDA receptors within the the amygdala, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. Our most recent research explores the relationship between postnatal ethanol exposure, neuroinflammation, and cognitive function. Specifically, we are pursuing the idea that ethanol induces long-lasting changes in the neuroimmune system, hindering later-life synaptic plasticity and long-term memory.